A Very Hot Cold
by ArchangelKo
Summary: Lucy is given the task of bringing a very sick Natsu back home. Stricken with a terrible cold, Natsu has a hard time restraining fireball sneezes and other fire-based maladies, let alone staying awake. It's up to Lucy to keep the house from burning down!
1. Chapter 1

((Hallo

((Hallo! I've just started reading Fairy Tail and love it!!

Anyways, this was sort of a random idea I had. Can't think of much to say about it… Although, forgive me if I make some sort of minor mistake about a character or event, I have only read up to chapter 27 or so in the series. So I guess it will take place around that time. (around the time after the mission with Erza and Gray)

So have fun reading, and I'd appreciate a rating!

Commence! Hi-ya!!))

Lucy looked at the notice board for any job that might be up her alley. Lately, the pay wasn't really that good. It was like a dry spell. Sometimes it happened, but this time Lucy really needed the money. Her next rent payment was coming up soon, and she blew quite a bit of money during her last shopping spree.

_It wasn't my fault I found some furniture for a bargain! Well, I probably could have showed some self-restraint in how much I bought. Got kinda carried away… But that's beside the point!_ she thought.

"Darn," she sighed to no one in particular. Lots of the jobs were easy and quick, but it would take too much time to complete enough to earn the money by the due date.

"What's wrong?" Mira asked from behind the counter. "Tight on funds?"

"Yes… I need a big one. Something with a lot of money. Now."

"Don't worry. I'm sure that something will come up. Just keep a close eye on that board, or else someone else will take the notice. Everyone is a bit needy right now."

Lucy could see at another table Kana drinking a barrel of liquor about half the size of the usual. Mira was right. With everyone looking for a good pay, managing to get something was going to be tough.

"Gah! Watch it, Natsu!" someone yelled from nearby, as a burst of flame erupted nearby. Startled by the sudden interruption, Lucy jumped and looked towards the offending source.

Natsu sat hunched over on a bench in a direction facing outwards from the table he sat at, rubbing under his nose with one finger. He sniffled.

"Oh come on, don't pretend it was an accident!" Gray came up to Natsu in a challenging stance. "Sending a ball of fire in my general direction and pretending it was just a sneeze… You wanna fight?!"

"Eh?" Natsu absentmindedly responded, seemingly just noticing the exhibitionist standing in front of him.

Gray snapped at his lack of care. In one swift movement, Gray picked up Natsu and hurled him across the room with a maniacal grin on his face. After he landed on a table, things were suddenly silent. Gray stood frozen in place, expecting a giant reaction from his opponent, as usual. Everyone else waited, too.

Nothing happened, so a few people crowded around where Natsu landed in curiosity. Lucy joined them, to see a dizzy and disoriented flame-mage laying among the broken remains of the table.

"This silence is deafening," Kana distantly remarked, still sitting on top of a table.

"She's right," Loki agreed, trying to see what was up at a safe distance from Lucy, as usual. "What's going on?"

Mirajane calmly walked up and knelt beside Natsu's head, since no one else was brave enough to find out of he was faking it. With a gentle gesture, she went to feel his forehead as he remained unresponsive.

"Oh," she quietly exclaimed. "He's boiling up."

Nearly everyone's attention turned to Gray, who remained at a distance. "W-what?!" he responded. "What did I do?"

"Nice going," Loki said. "You had to try and pick a fight with a sick person."

"Men fight with fists on equal terms," Elfman added. "That was downright dirty. Not manly at all."

"How was I supposed to know he was sick? Geez, it's not my fault!" Gray defended, cutting of Elfman in order to prevent a long speech about manhood.

Being the usual mediator of the Guild base, Mira changed the subject with a sunny smile, saying, "He should probably be brought home and put to bed. Who will take him?"

There was a pause, then a majority of the room said nearly all at the same time, "Lucy."

"Wha-?!"


	2. Chapter 2

((Now that it's summer, I'll have more time to work on this stuff

((Now that it's summer, I'll have more time to work on this stuff. Sorry for the slight delay. I just got a new laptop, so I've been busy with backing things up on my old one to switch over. File transferring… Fun fun fun…

But, yeah, this was a random idea for a fanfic. I'm not really a big shipper or anything, but I'll sometimes think about how cute two characters are together. In my original stories, I'll go nuts over pairings. But for anime and manga, it's like "Okay, cool, yeah…"

'Cause usually I'm too busy obsessing over a hot character in that series…

I like Gray too. Lol))

"_I have to stay here and keep everyone happy," Mirajane said._

"_I don't have the patience for these things," Erza dismissed._

"_I don't do babysitting," Makarov simply explained._

"_Busy…" Loki responded at a distance from Lucy._

"_Don't look at me," Gray spat._

…

For whatever reason, Lucy now found herself walking down the street with one of Natsu's arms slung over her shoulder to support him. She moved at a slow pace, more preoccupied with how this situation could be a lot of trouble for her financial burden than Natsu's state of health.

Natsu was fine. He just had a minor cold, right? She could easily just drop him off by his house and go back to guild HQ. One small thing did stand in the way of her plan, though.

"Hey, Natsu, where do you live?" Lucy asked him, jiggling her shoulder to get his attention.

"Eh?" He looked up, half-asleep with snot running from his nose.

"Ew, how old are you?" Lucy remarked aloud. "Anyways, where's your house?"

"You're funny, Lucy," he replied, obviously not really understanding what she was asking.

"Natsu! Your house. Where is it?" she asked in a forceful tone.

Instead of answering, he wrinkled his nose. As if he was going to…

Uh-oh.

Lucy quickly grabbed Natsu around the waist from behind and pointed him towards an empty space in the street in front of them.

Suddenly, he let out a humongous sneeze! As Lucy had predicted, Natsu sneezed a fireball, and it was about twice the size of her body! It went flying further than she expected, though. A poor, unsuspecting man soon found his wooden, thus highly flamboyant, cart aflame. Along with his produce.

"Hey! My cabbages!!" he cried in despair. "No matter where I go… Who's going to pay for this?!" He turned angry, looking in Lucy and Natsu's direction.

Instantly, Lucy ran away towards an alley, dragging the culprit behind her. She knew she would probably end up paying for the damage if they were caught, which was totally out of the question as of late. Finally, they got out of reach of the angry cabbage farmer.

She stopped to catch her breath, letting go of Natsu's hand. He limply flopped on the ground, more so out of breath than Lucy.

"Jeez, you cause so much trouble," she sighed, looking down to her nakama.

Natsu was completely flushed in the face, breathing heavily.

"H-hey," she said, kneeling beside him. Lucy thought to herself for a minute. She obviously didn't know where Natsu lived. If Happy was around, he would know… Where was Happy anyways?

Anyways, it seemed that there was no avoiding it. He would have to stay at Lucy's house temporarily. As she went to sit him up, she couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the threat he could pose to her things. Damages and rent…

Lucy paused after lifting him up, his arm over her shoulder again.

Was it just her, or was his body heating up even more?

…

Lucy set about removing flammable things from Natsu's general area. She laid him upon her new, pink couch earlier. She couldn't risk anything falling victim to his fireball sneezes. He was an accident waiting to happen. Even more than he was normally, if that was even possible.

All of a sudden, Natsu sat up and sneezed! A fireball was sent hurtling towards a side table. Lucy screamed as she realized that not only was her new table on fire, but so was her latest short story! She grabbed a curtain, also new, and went to smother the fire. By the time she had it put out, though, it was too late. The pages were as good as ash, along with most of the side table.

Lucy sighed, feeling tears coming on as she turned to look in Natsu's direction. He was laying down again as if nothing had happened. She went over to feel his forehead in frustration. He couldn't be _that_ bad.

Lucy quickly withdrew her hand after feeling how hot he was! If she wanted to get back to the Guild notice board, she knew se would have to try and do something about that fever first.


	3. Chapter 3

((Almost done with transferring files onto my laptop. Things are going unexpectedly smooth…

Murphy's Law…

Oh yeah, I'm a beta-reader now, so if you need any help, go ahead and submit a request or something. I take pride in my ability to help others.

Oh, out of sheer curiosity, what are your favorite pairings for Fairy Tail? They can even be yaoi and yuri, I am just wondering.

PLEASE review! I love comments and stuff. Now, commence!))

"Keep this in your mouth. I'm not holding it for you, you're a big boy," Lucy said, sticking a thermometer in Natsu's mouth. She had him sit up, though he obviously wasn't fully awake.

She walked off to the kitchen. She went about collecting any buckets or big mixing bowls, accumulating them all by the sink. One by one, she filled them with water in preparation of more spontaneous fires. Then, she carried them into the living room, spreading them out through the room. Natsu blankly watched with a dumb look on his face.

Finally, Lucy finished and came back to Natsu. She sat beside him on couch and drew the thermometer from his mouth. As she read the temperature, he wiped more runny snot from under his nose. He then proceeded to wipe it on the couch in plain view of Lucy.

"Gross," she groaned, then turned her attention to the mercury thermometer. The little red line went right up to 158 degrees F! Lucy looked at Natsu. Slowly, she couldn't help but go to poke his cheek. As her finger instantly felt the heat, he fell on his side back into a laying-down position due to the light pressure of her poke.

Lucy withdrew her finger into her mouth. It wasn't as hot as a pot on the stove, but it was still hot enough to turn her fingertip a bit reddish-pink.

_Maybe I shouldn't leave just yet…_

Nonsense! The rent payment on her house was on the line! There was no way she could just take a day off. What if someone at the guild got a good mission while she was away? She couldn't afford that happening. Literally.

Lucy got up and stomped away towards the closet. She pulled out a light, expendable sheet, and then went back to Natsu. She lifted his legs back on the couch and then shook out the folded sheet. Lucy quickly spread it over him as he slept.

She left the house, loudly closing the front door behind herself. At a fast pace, Lucy set off in the direction of Fairy Tail's HQ.

First, she would go in the building.

Next she would grab a chair and plop it down close to the notice board.

After that, she would keep a close eye on both the board and the main door. Someone would come in; they would post a mission request on the board. One with a great reward.

After that, Lucy would sprint up to it and leave everyone in the dust. In heroic glory, she would get the mission first!

Then…

Then…………

Lucy had slowed down over time as she ran through the scenario in her head. Finally, she had come to a stop. She looked down at the ground, a look of shame slowly creeping across her face.

No, this wasn't right. It felt all wrong in her mind, as she felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Lucy turned to look in the direction she had come from, back towards her house. She was already 3/4 of the way to the guild.

That didn't matter. She ran in the opposite direction of her original destination. She ran all the way to her home, not taking a stop for breath, thinking about the weight of her decision. This could put her living accommodations in danger. She could be forced out and made to find a lesser place to live, further away from the guild. Maybe with a less beautiful view and slightly more undesirable surroundings.

Her concerns were blown away as she realized that Natsu was more important. He could have more than a cold. He shouldn't be left alone.

She quickly entered through the front door and came to were she had left Natsu, trying to regain her breath.

In the 10 minutes she had been gone, he had seemed to take a bit of a worse turn. His face was really red as he took in heavy breaths, holding the sheet up close to his chin.

Lucy went to the closet again to get a washcloth, and grabbed a bowl of water off the floor as she went back to his side. She immediately went about soaking the washcloth in water, wringing it out, and putting it on his forehead.

Instantly, steam rose from it. In less than 10 seconds, nearly all the water had evaporated out of the cloth.

"Eep!" Lucy took it off and re-soaked it to put it on his forehead. It took several attempts to get his forehead cool enough to put the cloth back on without the water evaporating immediately.

She wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead, glad that she could take a break.

Now that she noticed it… Lucy's face was awfully close to Natsu's face as she sat cross-legged on the floor right beside his head. She couldn't help but stare at him, becoming aware of the tickle of his hot breath on her nose. Lucy blushed at the feeling. And the at thought of being so close.

It wouldn't take much to lean forward and-

Lucy shook her head and stood up. Where did that thought come from?!

Anyways, she probably had some cold medicine stored in the bathroom.

After getting to the bathroom and dispelling the blush, she rummaged through the cabinet. Luckily, there were some bottles of medicine to relieve cold symptoms.

Now that her mind was unclouded with her previous thoughts, Lucy froze as she could swear she smelled something burning. It smelled like fabric…


	4. Chapter 4

((Yes, I am actually working pretty fast on these. Which is saying something, for me. Though I don't think I'll catch you guys complaining, will I? lol With this chapter I'm maybe about 3/4 done, I think…

By the way, I'm working on a new Fairy Tail fanfic. It's really cute! I think some of you Gray fans will like it. There aren't any real pairings in it. It isn't really pairing story, but there's a hint of Natsu/Lucy, despite the focus of the story.

If you get a spare moment, check it out! It's posted on this site.

Anyways, here is the next installment! Commence! Hi-ya!))

Lucy rushed back into the living room after dropping the medicine in the sink. There was a bit of visible smoke rising from Natsu on the couch. She stopped beside him, looking at the area in a panic.

It seemed that Natsu's fever was burning the upholstery of her couch, where his body touched it.

"What do I do?! What do I do?!" she fretted aloud. She bolted back to the bathroom and turned on the tub's water. Lucy put it on where the water would be relatively lukewarm. Next, she ran to the kitchen, spurred faster by the stronger smell of burning furniture. She figured he would be too hot to touch, so she grabbed two potholders from nearby the stove.

After getting back to Natsu's side, she haphazardly grabbed him by the forearms using the potholders. Lucy dragged him towards the bathroom, walking backwards. With dismay, she noticed the melted and singed fabric on her new couch.

Well, there wasn't much she'd be able to do about it now. With a bit of effort, Lucy was able to pull him up and into the tub. Water splashed all over the floor, and tons of steam rose from the tub.

She tried to see through it, but it was like fog. She could hear a big of a struggle, and then coughing and sputtering.

Natsu started to panic as he came to. "Where am I?! What's going on?! I can't see!!"

Groping through the fog, Lucy grabbed his shoulder. "It's okay, I'm right here." Things started to clear up. At it became easier to see, Lucy and Natsu found themselves looking directly into each other's eyes. Natsu looked a bit flustered and Lucy looked a bit embarrassed as she blushed.

"I'm sorry," Lucy apologized, looking away. "You were really boiling up, so I thought it would be a good idea to try and cool you down before you could get hurt."

Natsu relaxed, leaning back against the inside of the tub. He was shivering from the sudden temperature change as he thought for a second. "… Am I sick?" he asked her after a minute.

"Yes. And I was asked to take you home from Fairy Tail. But you were too out of it to tell me where you live, so I had to take you to my house," she explained.

He didn't respond as he stared up at the ceiling. Lucy went to turn off the water, which was close to overflowing. "Do you want me to take you home now?"

A silence followed that seemed to last forever. Finally, Natsu said, "I want to stay here……… If that's okay…"

Lucy smiled at his honesty. "Sure. Here, let me get some medicine for you." She went about getting a bottle of syrup-y fluid. With some minor complaints from Natsu, she was able to get him to drink it.

Slowly, he drifted off to sleep in the tub. To be sure that he wouldn't drown, Lucy pulled the drain plug near his feet. She thought it would be a good idea to leave him in it. It would be safer for her poor house, even though Lucy could feel that his fever was going down by touching his forehead.

She withdrew her hand with a relieved smile as she rested her chin on her arms on the tub edge.

_I want to stay here…_

Lucy pushed her nose into her arms to try and hide her reddening cheeks. She felt a strange, tingly sensation as what he said ran through her mind. He was really trusting her in his time of need.

Did he feel comforted by her presence? Or was he just used to crashing her house…

Lucy smiled anyways, staring at the flame mage. He looked a bit funny with his usually-spiky hair now wetted down.

So, her side table was gone. Her manuscript was in ashes. Her couch was melted. She could be missing an opportunity to get a good job.

But right there, right at that moment, Lucy wasn't thinking about those worries.


	5. Chapter 5

((Hello! It's summer yet it's raining… I'm so tired…

Anyways, here's the next chapter. After this fanfic, maybe I'll start another while continuing to work on the Gray one. Anyone have any ideas/recommendations? What would you like to see?

A slight warning, I may not use your idea word for word, and maybe I'll combine a few together. But I'm sure you'd like it. I think. Maybe.

Chapter 5! Here we go! Commence!))

Lucy awoke with a start. She seemed to have fallen asleep leaning forwards against the tub. Natsu was also still asleep.

Judging by the lack of light coming from the window, it must have been nighttime already. Lucy stretched her back, then stood up. She felt several somethings pop. Sweet relief…

What to do… She wasn't sure if she should keep Natsu in the tub. Something could set on fire, yet it wasn't an ideal place to sleep.

Deciding it was a good idea to check again, Lucy found the thermometer were she had replaced it earlier in a drawer. Not really wanting to wake him up this time, she held is in Natsu's mouth for him.

They seemed to be out of the worst of it, though his face was still flushed with fever and he was breathing a bit heavily through his mouth. When she took back the thermometer, it read 114.2 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn't as bad as before but it still wasn't too good.

Lucy ran several options through her head on what to do with him.

She kept coming back to one. And she didn't like it.

The stellar mage sighed. It seemed like the best idea… If she wanted Natsu out of her house and feeling better soon, he needed somewhere comfortable to sleep. Where he could get a good night's rest.

"But not in these wet clothes, he not," Lucy growled under her breath. She grabbed a towel hanging from a rack nearby and dropped it on Natsu's head to soak up water. Then, hesitantly, Lucy started stripping off his vest and his scarf. Her cheeks were flaming hot. She could swear she was the feverish one at this point.

She would admit to herself, but not aloud, that the towel was also covering his face to give her time to run away if he suddenly woke up. He wouldn't be able to see that it was her taking off his clothes.

Lucy froze at his pants, though. In her head, she prayed to whatever godly entity existed that he was wearing underwear.

Fortunately, he was. She had peeked a little first to make sure. _Please don't wake up_, Lucy thought.

A minute or two later, Lucy was carrying Natsu, wearing his boxers, on her back and out of the bathroom.

To her room, which had her bed.

…

It had been a long day. Lucy wiped the sweat off of her brow as she sat on the edge of her bed. Natsu was laying down on his side, all tucked in.

_Hopefully the couch isn't too uncomfortable_, she thought with a groan. She slowly got up, entirely exhausted. But just as she was about to walk away, something hot grabbed her wrist.

In surprise, Lucy turned to see that it was Natsu who had reached out for her. He was still laying on his side, this time his eyes only half-closed. He didn't look at her, but in the direction of the foot of the bed.

"Y-yes?" Lucy responded, unsure if he was doing this in his sleep.

"……… There's enough room for the both of us," he mumbled after a moment or two of silence.

Everything was quiet for a minute or two as Lucy stared at him. He didn't look at her.

She walked away anyways, around the bed to where the door was, and turned off the light. Natsu sighed.

But all of a sudden in the pitch black room, he felt someone come to lay down beside him, facing his front.

Lucy had come back after turning off the light. She made sure to stay on top of the blankets while Natsu was under them. Slowly, Natsu shifted around to get comfortable, inching closer to Lucy.

_Oh, what the heck… It's just for tonight_, she decided in her mind

Suddenly, he felt her arms wrap around him, his head cradled where her neck and shoulder connected.

Natsu wasn't sure if Lucy was asleep or not…

… But he liked this.


	6. Chapter 6

((HEY! Listen to the song "Something to Sleep to" by Michelle Branch. You can find it on youtube. This song kept running through my head as I was writing chapter 5. CHECK IT OUT! I swear, it pretty much fits. It's a beautiful song, too…

Anyways, here's the next chapter.

But before that, I AM TAKING REQUESTS. If you want me to write a story idea that you would be interested in reading, LET ME KNOW. Either comment on one of my fanfics or send me a message. A caution, I am more tempted to give priority to the ideas coming from those people who have commented more. PRESENT TO ME YOUR IDEAS!!

Yay! I have too much free time on my hands… Chapter 6, commence! Hi-ya!))

Natsu woke up to the smell of something being cooked. Possibly a bit burnt.

Still laying down, he shifted his gaze over the bed. Lucy wasn't there. But the sheets… It looked like they had been pulled back. As if someone got up from them. As if someone had been underneath them.

As if Lucy had slept below the blankets, and beside him.

Natsu closed his eyes, trying to summon up the feeling of her presence. He held on to a slight feeling of an embrace, and a soothing coolness.

Usually bodies are warm, though, he thought to himself.

Then he fully remembered what exactly was going on. Except for more distant details, he knew that Lucy brought him to her house, because he was sick.

_Very sick…_ he sighed in his mind, still feeling some residual symptoms.

She took care of him. Even though those particulars were really foggy, he knew that much was true. One thing he distinctly remembered…

Asking Lucy to sleep beside him. He believed that she would say no, but she didn't. It was strange.

Natsu dismissed that from his head, knowing that it was something he probably wouldn't really understand. Yet…

He couldn't help but want to recall the feeling of her touch. When she embraced him, she eased his pain. He didn't feel ill anymore. Natsu clenched a fold of fabric in his fist. He tried with all his might not to let go of that lingering feeling. He wanted to remember it.

He wanted to keep it sacred in his mind, locked away in his mind where no one else could find it. Natsu knew that if times were bad in the future, he could call upon the memory of her holding him.

Because something like this might not happen again. Even though it pained him to admit this.

Suddenly, Natsu felt a hand on his forehead. In a split second, he turned to look at the source.

"Oh, you're awake," Lucy said, a little startled. "A-are you feeling better?"

Natsu thought a bit. He then hoarsely replied, "Yes…"

It was silent for a second. Then Lucy said, "Well, I'm making breakfast in the kitchen if you want some. It's around 11am, but it's never too late for breakfast."

She got up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Natsu noticed the stack of his now-clean clothes at the foot of his bed.

As he dressed, he grumbled to himself about not saying more than 'Yes'.

…

Biscuits, eggs, and bacon. Well, the bacon was a bit burned, but it wasn't so bad. Natsu munched on his breakfast as he sat on the couch. Usually, Lucy wouldn't really let anyone eat anywhere but the table.

_It's not like this couch could get any worse_, Natsu thought. He snickered, looking at the destroyed upholstery underneath him. Even in his sleep he was a raging fireball of fury. The Salamander shows no mercy!

Lucy sighed, having a good hunch about what was going on in his mind. She was almost ready to go back. She tied up her hair in her room.

She was unable to keep herself from glancing at the opened rent bill on her desk. Of course it was still there… Rent can't just disappear, though she really wanted it to. But something seemed a bit off… The paper wasn't exactly in the same place. It was a little more bend open, and Lucy cold swear she had left it on the other left side of the top, not the right side.

She shrugged. After a hectic day like yesterday, small details could be forgotten.

Well, Natsu seemed healthier than before, although he wasn't well enough to go outside yet. It probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to let him stay a bit longer. His fire sneezing calmed down.

…

"Get a bit more rest while I'm gone, okay?" Lucy said as she stood by the door.

Natsu grunted in return, and went to wipe some more snot on her couch. Fortunately, she was out of flinching reactions. She was too tired to care anymore about her furniture. If, or rather when, she got kicked out of her home, it wouldn't be useful to her anyways…

Natsu heard her open the door. But before she left, he heard her call his name.

"Hey, Natsu! Think fast!"

He turned his head to see something on fire coming straight at his face! He greedily grabbed it and ravenously chomped down on the flames.

But Natsu felt something small and light fall on his upper leg just before the front door closed. Pulling the fiery snack away from his mouth for a second, he looked to see that it was a little box of matches.

Natsu smiled, looking towards the door that Lucy left through.

He then went about setting fire to the rest of his meal to ingest the flames of that after whatever she had thrown him. Lucy's cooking kinda sucked…


	7. Chapter 7

((Hey! Sorry for the lack of quick updates over this past week. I was very busy with family matters. Blech…

Okay, enough complaining!

I'm getting a bit sad because this fanfic is drawing to a close. I've enjoyed every minute of your comments and support. But this doesn't mean that I'm going to stop! I'll continue making Fairy Tail fanfics for your enjoyment! Just keep an eye on my profile, or look for my name whenever you browse for fanfics.

Remember, I'm egged on by your support. Lol

So here's the last chapter! Commence!))

Lucy felt nervous as she walked to guild headquarters. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen to her house while she was going on.

But…

She knew if she went back, Natsu would still be there. Lucy didn't know if she was ready to put up with the awkwardness of last night, yet. She slept in the same bed as Natsu…

She felt blood rush up to her cheeks. Lucy covered her face so no one around her could see her blushing.

Eventually, Lucy reached Fairy Tail. She walked in through the doors and headed towards the bulletin board. She kept telling herself that things were normal now. Though, strangely, Lucy felt that all eyes were on her. She felt that people were watching her walking, and they knew what she did. Lucy knew it was just her paranoia, and that no one had any idea about what happened yesterday.

It was all in her head, but Lucy couldn't shake the insecurity. It was weird…

Finally, after what seemed like an eon, she reached the bulletin board. It didn't look too different… There was nothing new.

Lucy sighed. She might as well go back home and start packing things already. Because it looked pretty hopeless.

"Lucy! Over here!"

She snapped out of her moment of depression at the sound of Mirajane's voice. Lucy looked over towards the bar to see Mira waving at her from behind the counter and Happy sitting on the counter in front of her.

She walked over and stood with them. "Hey," she said, unable to mask her disappointment.

"Thanks for completing my mission request," Mira said.

"Huh?"

Mirajane held up a piece of paper similar to those on the board.

"CHECK ON NATSU AT HIS HOUSE," it read at the top. It had a picture of a rowdy Natsu fighting at the guild in the center of the paper. Lucy didn't know when it was taken, since Natsu often got into fights in the building.

Below it was an actual reward. It was close to the amount that she needed for her rent!

"But," Mira started to say. "You took him to your house instead of his house. That was not in the mission's request. So that will take a bit away from your reward. But then you took care of him for the whole day, and he's nearly back to full health, I presume. So that requires a bonus."

Mira scribbled out the number at the bottom, then rewrote what Lucy was going to get. She showed Lucy when she was done.

It was the exact amount that her rent cost!

A bit awestruck, Lucy looked at Happy. He deviously smiled in a suspicious way.

... The rent bill. Lucy knew that it was in a different position! Did Happy sneak into her house?

"Here," Mira said, holding an envelope full of money to Lucy.

"I can't take this! Not from you guys," Lucy responded.

Mira frowned. "As your employer for this mission, I'm taking a lot of offense to the fact that you're not accepting the reward."

Lucy smiled. "If you insist…" She took the envelope, a bit embarrassed, but incredibly grateful.

"I have some work to do. See you later," Mirajane happily said, walking off into the back.

As Lucy put her reward into her pocket, Happy whispered something that froze her in place.

"I know what you did last night." His smile was now ominous.

"Y-you didn't tell anyone, d-did you?" she whispered back.

"Hm…. Did I?" Happy looked off into empty space.

"I swear I will do anything you ask if you don't utter a word to a soul," Lucy frantically tried to bargain.

…

Lucy sighed as she sat on what was left of her couch. Not only was it singed beyond repair, but Natsu took it upon himself to tear bits off of it to set on fire and eat.

Giving him matches was a bad idea.

Still…

Lucy smiled as he slept on the floor, his head in her lap. She leaned back against the foot of the couch, happy that all her worries were gone.

"Wow, Lucy, you're cooking is HORRIBLE," Happy called out from the kitchen.

Okay… so she had to make whatever Happy wanted to eat for a week… But that wasn't so bad was it?

"Exactly what ARE you good for?" Happy taunted her.

"Shut up!!"


End file.
